A vise or clamp having jaws movable toward and away from one another commonly is used to clamp a workpiece while some operation is performed on such workpiece. Many workpieces are of irregular shape. Typical of such workpieces are tapered furniture legs, dowel rods, angled pieces of wood, and the like which do not lend themselves to secure clamping by the jaws. As a consequence, when an irregularly shaped or cylindrical workpiece occupies the space between the clamping jaws, the irregularity of the shape of such workpiece makes it difficult to apply clamping forces on the workpiece uniformly, thereby subjecting the workpiece to the possibility of damage due to an excessive concentration of clamping force on some part of the workpiece. If a workpiece is only partially engaged by the opposing jaws of a vise or clamp, the secure retention of the workpiece in place is jeopardized because the engaged surfaces of the workpiece and the clamp jaws may be of such small area as to enable slipping of the workpiece as operations are performed on the latter.
A principal object of the invention is to provide an attachment for use in clamping an irregularly shaped workpiece between movable jaws of a clamp or vise and in such manner as to overcome the objectionable characteristics referred to above.